Shadow Syndicate

The Thesis

Two Darkness Stage 2 lines share one engine, and the engine costs nothing extra.

Gastly and Team Rocket's Zubat are both Basic, both Darkness, and both sit under the 70 HP cap on Buddy-Buddy Poffin. Both lines top out at a Stage 2. Both get there off the same Rare Candy, the same Dawn, the same Ultra Ball. Running the second line costs you seven card slots and zero Trainers.

What you get back is three things your Dark Box does not have.

A second weakness. Every attacker in Gengar Gang and Dark Box is Fighting weak. Fox's Ground Zero doubles into all of it. Team Rocket's Crobat ex is Lightning weak with 310 HP, so Gaia Wave hits it for 200 and does not kill it.

Free chip damage. Biting Spree puts 2 damage counters on each of two of his Pokémon every time Crobat comes down from your hand. Assassin's Return puts Crobat back in your hand, so it comes down again. That is a repeating 40 damage that ignores the Active Spot entirely.

A body that heals. Assassin's Return discards Crobat's damage along with its Energy. A Crobat sitting at 200 damage becomes a fresh card in your hand.

And Shadowy Concealment covers all of it, because Team Rocket's Crobat ex, Golbat, and Zubat are Darkness Pokémon. The tax applies to the whole board.

Deck List

Pokémon (18)

Qty	Card	Set	Number	Reg
4	Gastly	Phantasmal Flames	054	I
1	Haunter	Perfect Order	049	J
3	Mega Gengar ex	Phantasmal Flames	056	I
3	Team Rocket's Zubat	Destined Rivals	120	I
2	Team Rocket's Golbat	Destined Rivals	121	I
2	Team Rocket's Crobat ex	Destined Rivals	122	I
2	Seviper	Phantasmal Flames	062	I
1	Sableye	Phantasmal Flames	059	I

Trainers (30)

Qty	Card	Type	Set	Number	Reg
4	Lillie's Determination	Supporter	Mega Evolution	119	I
2	Dawn	Supporter	Phantasmal Flames	087	I
2	Boss's Orders	Supporter	Mega Evolution	114	I
2	Team Rocket's Proton	Supporter	Destined Rivals	177	I
1	Team Rocket's Giovanni	Supporter	Destined Rivals	174	I
4	Buddy-Buddy Poffin	Item	Temporal Forces	144	H
4	Ultra Ball	Item	Mega Evolution	131	I
4	Rare Candy	Item	Mega Evolution	125	I
2	Night Stretcher	Item	Shrouded Fable	061	H
1	Mega Signal	Item	Mega Evolution	121	I
2	Punk Helmet	Tool	Phantasmal Flames	092	I
2	Risky Ruins	Stadium	Mega Evolution	127	I

Energy (12)

Qty	Card	Set	Number	Reg
9	Basic Darkness Energy	Mega Evolution Energies	007	-
2	Team Rocket's Energy	Destined Rivals	182	I
1	Legacy Energy	Twilight Masquerade	167	H

18 + 30 + 12 = 60. ✓

Basics: 10 (4 Gastly, 3 Team Rocket's Zubat, 2 Seviper, 1 Sableye). That sits in the 75-85% band for opening with something playable, and every one of the ten is Darkness, which matters for the Stadium below.

Why Each Package Is Here

Core line, Gengar. 4 Gastly, 1 Haunter, 3 Mega Gengar ex. Rare Candy jump. The single Haunter is the backup route when Candy is prized or stuck, and Haunt placing 3 counters for one Energy is real chip on a turn you cannot attack with anything else.

Core line, Rocket. 3 Zubat, 2 Golbat, 2 Crobat ex. Thicker on the Stage 1 than the Gengar line, because Sneaky Bite does work on the way up and because you re-evolve Crobat over and over. Rare Candy still jumps Zubat straight to Crobat ex, and Biting Spree still triggers, since Rare Candy evolves.

Damage dealer. 2 Seviper. 120 HP, single Prize, and 240 damage while any Darkness Mega Evolution ex is in play. Mega Gengar ex on the Bench is enough. This is the card that wins Prize races.

Early attacker. 1 Sableye. Cocky Claw for one Energy hits 90 the moment any Stage 2 Darkness Pokémon is on your Bench, and both of your Stage 2s qualify.

Search. 4 Buddy-Buddy Poffin grabs Gastly and Zubat two at a time. 4 Ultra Ball finds anything. 2 Dawn fetches an entire line in one card. 1 Mega Signal finds Mega Gengar ex when it is the missing piece. 2 Team Rocket's Proton is the only card here you can play on your first turn going first, and it puts three Zubat in your hand.

Draw. 4 Lillie's Determination, and 8 cards off it while you still have all six Prizes.

Gust. 2 Boss's Orders. 1 Team Rocket's Giovanni pulls double duty when a Rocket Pokémon is Active, switching your own attacker and dragging one of theirs up in the same card.

Recovery. 2 Night Stretcher. Note it retrieves Pokémon and basic Energy only. Team Rocket's Energy and Legacy Energy are gone once discarded.

Tool. 2 Punk Helmet. 4 damage counters back at anything that hits your Active Darkness Pokémon, and it fires even when the Pokémon dies.

Stadium. 2 Risky Ruins. Every Basic Pokémon in this deck is Darkness, so this Stadium is entirely one-sided. It taxes their Bench and never yours.

Energy. 9 basic Darkness carries Mega Gengar's and Seviper's . 2 Team Rocket's Energy each pay for a full Assassin's Return on their own. 1 Legacy Energy is the ACE SPEC.

Key Card Text

Staples are covered card by card in Gengar Gang Classic and Dark Box. This section is the new material.

Team Rocket's Crobat exx2

Set: SV10: Destined Rivals 122/182
Rarity: Double Rare
Type: Darkness
HP: 310
Stage: Stage 2
Ability: Biting Spree - When you play this Pokémon from your hand to evolve 1 of your Pokémon during your turn, you may choose 2 of your opponent's Pokémon and put 2 damage counters on each of them.
Weakness: Lightning ×2
Resistance: Fighting -30
Retreat: 1
Tournament: legal (Reg I)
Attack: Assassin's Return (120) - You may put this Pokémon into your hand. (Discard all cards attached to this Pokémon.)

The hybrid's whole argument in one card. 310 HP on a Stage 2 that gives up 2 Prizes, weak to Lightning rather than Fighting.

Biting Spree triggers when you play it from your hand to evolve, including off Rare Candy. 2 damage counters on each of two of their Pokémon. Bench targets are legal, so it reaches things a gust cannot.
Assassin's Return for 120, then optionally back to your hand with everything attached discarded. The damage on it goes to the discard too.

The bounce is a heal, an escape, and a reset of Biting Spree all at once. The cost is the Energy, so bounce off basic Darkness when you plan to do it, and save Team Rocket's Energy for turns you intend to stay.

Team Rocket's Golbatx2

Set: SV10: Destined Rivals 121/182
Rarity: Uncommon
Type: Darkness
HP: 80
Stage: Stage 1
Ability: Sneaky Bite - When you play this Pokémon from your hand to evolve 1 of your Pokémon during your turn, you may put 2 damage counters on 1 of your opponent's Pokémon.
Weakness: Lightning ×2
Resistance: Fighting -30
Retreat: 1
Tournament: legal (Reg I)
Attack: Confuse Ray (30) - Your opponent's Active Pokémon is now Confused.

Sneaky Bite puts 2 damage counters on one of their Pokémon when you evolve into it. Free, and it stacks with everything else on this page. 80 HP means it does not want to be Active.

Team Rocket's Zubatx3

Set: SV10: Destined Rivals 120/182
Rarity: Common
Type: Darkness
HP: 50
Stage: Basic
Weakness: Lightning ×2
Resistance: Fighting -30
Retreat: 1
Tournament: legal (Reg I)
Attack: Poison Spray - Your opponent's Active Pokémon is now Poisoned.

50 HP, so Buddy-Buddy Poffin gets it. Poison Spray costs one Darkness and needs no damage roll, which is occasionally the right turn-one play.

Seviperx2

Set: ME02: Phantasmal Flames 062/094
Rarity: Uncommon
Type: Darkness
HP: 120
Stage: Basic
Ability: Excited Power - If you have any Darkness Mega Evolution Pokémon ex in play, attacks used by this Pokémon do 120 more damage to your opponent's Active Pokémon (before applying Weakness and Resistance).
Weakness: Fighting ×2
Retreat: 1
Tournament: legal (Reg I)
Attack: Pitch-Black Fangs (120)

Excited Power reads "in play," not "Active." Mega Gengar ex on the Bench turns Pitch-Black Fangs into 240 damage for one Prize. This is the best trade available to you and the reason the Mega is worth building even on turns it never attacks.

Team Rocket's Protonx2

Set: SV10: Destined Rivals 177/182
Rarity: Uncommon
Type: Trainer - Supporter
Ability: If you go first, you may use this card during your first turn. Search your deck for up to 3 Basic Team Rocket's Pokémon, reveal them, and put them into your hand. Then, shuffle your deck.
Tournament: legal (Reg I)

The one Supporter in this deck you may play on your first turn when you go first. It only finds Basic Team Rocket's Pokémon, which here means Zubat, and that is exactly the piece that is hardest to draw naturally.

Team Rocket's Giovannix1

Set: SV10: Destined Rivals 174/182
Rarity: Uncommon
Type: Trainer - Supporter
Ability: Switch your Active Team Rocket's Pokémon with 1 of your Benched Team Rocket's Pokémon. If you do, switch in 1 of your opponent's Benched Pokémon to the Active Spot.
Tournament: legal (Reg I)

A gust and a self-switch in one card, gated on your Active being a Team Rocket's Pokémon. Perfect for the turn Crobat is stuck Active and you want Seviper in front instead.

Team Rocket's Energyx2

Set: SV10: Destined Rivals 182/182
Rarity: Uncommon
Type: Energy - Special
Ability: This card can only be attached to a Team Rocket's Pokémon. If this card is attached to anything other than a Team Rocket's Pokémon, discard this card. As long as this card is attached to a Pokémon, it provides 2 in any combination of Energy and Energy.
Tournament: legal (Reg I)

Provides 2 Energy in any mix of Psychic and Darkness, and attaches only to Team Rocket's Pokémon. One card fully pays for Assassin's Return. It cannot go on Gengar, Seviper, or Sableye, and Night Stretcher cannot get it back.

Risky Ruinsx2

Set: ME01: Mega Evolution 127/132
Rarity: Uncommon
Type: Trainer - Stadium
Ability: Whenever any player puts a Basic non-Darkness Pokémon onto their Bench during their turn, place 2 damage counters on that Pokémon.
Tournament: legal (Reg I)

Places 2 damage counters on any Basic non-Darkness Pokémon a player benches during their turn. Your ten Basics are all Darkness, so you are exempt and Fox is not. It does not trigger on the opening setup, only on Bench drops made during a turn, which in practice means every Poffin, Nest Ball, and hand drop he makes for the rest of the game.

Legacy Energyx1

Set: SV06: Twilight Masquerade 167/167
Rarity: ACE SPEC Rare
Type: Energy - Special Rainbow
Ability: As long as this card is attached to a Pokémon, it provides every type of Energy but provides only 1 Energy at a time. If the Pokémon this card is attached to is Knocked Out by damage from an attack from your opponent's Pokémon, that player takes 1 fewer Prize card. This effect of your Legacy Energy can't be applied more than once per game.
Tournament: legal (Reg H)

Provides one Energy of any type, and takes one Prize away from whoever knocks out the Pokémon holding it, once per game. Stacking it with Shadowy Concealment is the point. See the Prize map.

The Prize Map

Shadowy Concealment removes 1 Prize when one of your Darkness Pokémon is knocked out by an attack from an opponent's Pokémon ex. Legacy Energy removes 1 Prize when its holder is knocked out by any attack, once per game. They are separate effects and they stack.

Your Pokémon	Base Prizes	Under Concealment	Plus Legacy Energy
Seviper, Sableye	1	0	0
Team Rocket's Golbat, Zubat, Gastly, Haunter	1	0	0
Team Rocket's Crobat ex	2	1	0
Mega Gengar ex	3	2	1

Read the trigger literally. Concealment needs the attacker to be a Pokémon ex. Against a single-prize attacker it does nothing, and against Fox's Charizard deck it is blank. Against Ground Zero and against his Team Rocket's Mewtwo build it is on for the entire game.

The shape you want is his six Prizes coming two at a time while yours come one at a time. A Seviper that trades into a Mega Zygarde ex takes 3 Prizes and gives back 0.

Damage Math

Source	Cost	Damage
Mega Gengar ex, Void Gale		230, and moves 1 Energy to your Bench
Seviper, Pitch-Black Fangs with a Darkness Mega in play		240
Team Rocket's Crobat ex, Assassin's Return		120
Sableye, Cocky Claw with a Stage 2 Darkness benched		90
Haunter, Haunt		30, placed as counters
Biting Spree on evolve	free	20 + 20, any two targets
Sneaky Bite on evolve	free	20, any target
Punk Helmet	free	40 back at the attacker
Risky Ruins	free	20 per non-Darkness Basic they Bench

The chip is what turns a two-shot into a one-shot.

Target	HP	The line
Team Rocket's Mewtwo ex	280	Seviper 240 + Biting Spree 40. Exactly lethal.
Flareon ex	270	Seviper 240 + Biting Spree 40 = 280.
Mega Zygarde ex	310	Void Gale 230 + Biting Spree 40 + Sneaky Bite 20 + Risky Ruins 20.
Charizard (Vivid Voltage)	170	Sableye twice, or Seviper once.
Fezandipiti ex	210	Void Gale 230 outright.

Game Plans

1. Poffin turn one, Candy turn two

Bench Gastly and Zubat off one Buddy-Buddy Poffin. Turn two, Rare Candy whichever line matches the board. Candy into Crobat ex when you want the Biting Spree damage now; Candy into Mega Gengar ex when you want Seviper switched on.

2. The Energy river, extended

Void Gale moves an Energy from Gengar to your Bench every time it attacks. Point it at Seviper. Three Void Gales fully arm a Seviper without a single manual attachment going there, and Seviper is hitting 240 the whole time because Gengar is the thing enabling it.

3. The Crobat loop

Evolve Crobat, spread 40. Attack for 120 and bounce it back to hand. Next turn evolve a fresh Golbat or Rare Candy a fresh Zubat, spread another 40. Each cycle is 160 damage and gives up nothing, because the card that would have been knocked out is sitting in your hand.

Two constraints. You need a Zubat or Golbat waiting each time, so keep the Bench stocked. And the bounce discards attached Energy, so pay with basic Darkness on loop turns.

4. Crobat as the escape hatch

When something hits Crobat for a lot and does not kill it, Assassin's Return deletes the damage. 310 HP means most single attacks in this house leave it alive, and a survivor in your hand is worth more than a survivor on the board.

5. Sableye is the turn-two attacker

90 damage for one Energy as soon as any Stage 2 Darkness is benched. That is a dead Charmander, a dead Eevee, or a dead Zubat while your real board comes together.

Versus The Table

Fox's Ground Zero, Mega Zygarde ex

The reason the Rocket half exists. Gaia Wave is 200 damage and doubles against everything with a Fighting weakness, which is your whole Gengar side.

Crobat ex takes a flat 200 and lives at 110, then bounces to your hand at full health.
Mega Zygarde ex is a Pokémon ex, so Shadowy Concealment is on all game. Your Seviper trades 0 Prizes for his 3.
Mega Zygarde ex is a Basic non-Darkness Pokémon, so Risky Ruins taxes it 20 every time he benches one during a turn.
He needs two knockouts to lose. You need three, and Concealment means several of yours are free.

Fox's Team Rocket's Mewtwo deck

Nearly all ex attackers, so Concealment is live for the entire game. Erasure Ball caps at 280 and cannot one-shot Mega Gengar ex. Seviper plus two Biting Spree counters kills Mewtwo on the nose. Watch for the mirror problem on Team Rocket's Energy and the Crobat line if you are both drawing from the same box.

Fox's Flareon ex and Charizard decks

Concealment does less here because more of his attackers are single-prize, and against Charizard it does nothing at all. Win this one on damage instead. Seviper clears 270 with any chip attached, and Risky Ruins punishes his Bench-heavy setup turns.

Test And Tune

Three things to watch, and the exact ratio each one points at.

Crobat runs out of Zubat. If the loop stops because there is nothing left to evolve, the Rocket line is too thin. Go to 4 Zubat and 3 Golbat, cutting the Haunter and one Basic Darkness. This is the most likely problem.

Seviper sits at two Energy. If Pitch-Black Fangs is a turn late every game, the Energy river is not running. Add 2 Energy Switch over 1 Night Stretcher and 1 Punk Helmet, or add the Toxel and Toxtricity line from Dark Box if you want real acceleration and are willing to cut four Trainer slots for it.

Giovanni is dead in hand. If your Active is Gengar or Seviper most turns, that card never fires. Make it a third Boss's Orders.

Two smaller notes. If you draw Biting Spree damage but never convert it into a knockout, you are short on gust and want the third Boss's Orders regardless. And if Risky Ruins is getting bumped off by his Stadium every turn, the second copy is doing its job, so leave it alone.